Polish Naval Helicopter Force in Crisis

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Deskripsi:

Alex Mladenov examines the consequences of the termination of the negotiations for the Airbus Helicopters H225 purchase by the Polish government together and as the type enters into the final years of its service, an analysis on the current state and operations of the Polish Navy’s tiny Mi-14 ‘Haze’ fleet.

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Polish Naval Helicopter Force in Crisis

Diunggah oleh

Deskripsi:

Alex Mladenov examines the consequences of the termination of the negotiations for the Airbus Helicopters H225 purchase by the Polish government together and as the type enters into the final years of its service, an analysis on the current state and operations of the Polish Navy’s tiny Mi-14 ‘Haze’ fleet.

Polish Naval

Helicopter Forcein crisisAlex Mladenov examines the consequencesof the termination of the negotiations forthe Airbus Helicopters H225 purchase by thePolish government together and as the typeenters into the final years of its service, ananalysis on the current state and operationsof the Polish Navys tiny Mi-14 Haze fleet.

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 59 FAILED PROCUREMENT AND THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES

On 5 October 2016, Poland officially announced the end of negotiations with

Airbus Helicopters, which began in September 2015, on procurement of as many as 50, H225M Caracal helicopters for the Air Force and Navy. The official explanation of this move by the Polish government was that it eventually proved impossible to get into agreement on the industrial offset because the the Polish economic development ministry would not approve the proposals put on the table by the manufacturer. The Polish government selected the Caracal in April 2015 and the helicopter was reported to have subsequently passed in-country qualification tests. The main part of offset proposal of Airbus Helicopters and its engine supplier, Safran Helicopter Engines was centered on setting up a final assembly line for the H225M at the WZL-1 aviation repair plant in Lodz and the engagement of the Polish airspace industry in its global supply chain. The 5 October 2016 decision however provided another window of opportunity for the other two contenders in the original Polish competition that was run in 2013- 2015; Leonardo Helicopters and Sikorsky. Both companies have long-time presences in Poland through their local subsidiaries PZL Swidnik and PZL Mielec respectively will be able to re-enter the game and fight to get the order. During the original tender, Italian manufacturer Leonardo Helicopters offered the AgustaWestland AW149 in tactical transport, SAR and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) version while US helicopter maker, Sikorsky offered two different models the S-70i Black Hawk, to be produced at PZL Mielec plant, and the S-70B Seahawk for ASW and SAR to be manufactured in the USA. In the event that the Polish requirement for new rotorcraft still exists, that requirement is now especially pressing for the naval SAR and Air Force special operations forces (SOF) support. Soon after the end of the negotiations with Airbus Helicopter, the Polish defense minister Antoni Macierewicz announced in mid-October the government intention to go for a no-bid solution by ordering the Polish-made S-70i Black Hawk for the SOF support. In late November, however, the government backtracked, as deputy defense minister Bartosz Kownacki reported to the Parliament that no formal procurement procedure for the S-70i had been initiated. Instead, it was also revealed by the Polish press that MoD is considering pursuing an accelerated procurement for its new helicopters, set to be formally launched in January 2017 at the earliest. Polish sources hint that the armed sub-version of the S-70i is still being regarded as the front-runner for the SOF requirement as a replacement of the upgraded Mi-17, while the naval ASW and ASW requirements for replacing the aging Mi-14 (eight for ASW and six for combat SAR) are likely to see head-to-head competition between the H225M and AW101.

60 HELIOPS FRONTLINEFor take-offs, the minimum visibilityis set at 1,640ft (500m), but whenscrambled to perform a real-worldSAR operation there are no visibilitylimits set for take-off, and the windspeed limit is set at 39kt (72km/h).

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 61 The M-14PL/R has a battery of searchlights, useful for night landings HAZE SOLDIERS ON and winching operations, The Polish Naval Aviations aged anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and Search and including two on Rescue (SAR) rotorcraft fleets are represented by two Mi-14 Haze versions, slated front fuselage, two in for eventual retirement by about 2018. The Haze-A is a large amphibious machine sponsons and one on the tailboom. based on the Mi-8 design with a boat hull, optimized for naval operations and able to operate from sea surface. The Polish hard-working Mi-14PL fleet has been subject of a comprehensive service life extension program (SLEP) undertaken at the local WZL-1 military aviation maintenance facility in Lodz in the previous decade, with the first example, serialed 1002, re-delivered to Darlowo in 2007. Provided with seven years of service and 1,000 flight hours at the SLEP completion, this aircraft was finally grounded in 2014 and used as a spare parts donor for the flying Haze fleet. As Polish naval aviators claimed, despite its age, the 13-tonne Mi-14 is still a pretty capable aircraft for Baltic Sea operations in both the ASW and SAR roles, thanks to its flight performance, combined with the reliable and effective mission equipment. No submarine can hide from our highly-upgraded Hazes, proudly noted one of the Mi-14 pilots at Darlowo, citing the result from Baltops-series of multinational annual exercises held in the Baltic Sea. In Baltops, NATO practices for two-weeks all the major warfare areas and in one of the recent exercise editions the Darlowo-based Haze-A crews have reported detection and tracking of two French Navy and one German Navy submarines. He also added that the Mi-14PL/R is currently being regarded as the most capable SAR helicopters in the Baltics Sea. The upgraded ASW fleet originally included eight upgraded Mi-14PLs, used for ASW and maritime reconnaissance missions (with serial numbers 1001, 1002, 1003, 1005, 1007, 1008, 1010, 1011) plus two more Mi-14PL/Rs converted for the SAR role (1009 and 1012). The Polish Mi-14PLs underwent the first upgrades of their mission suites in the second half of the 1990s. Tests have shown that the upgraded ASW suite, employing newly added digital processors, is well capable of detecting not only moving submarines but also sunken ships resting on the sea floor. The first upgraded Haze-A was commissioned in service in November 2000. In the early 2000s, the Mi-14PLs armament was further enhanced with the integration of the modern MU90 anti-submarine guided torpedo, manufactured by the French-Italian consortium Eurotorp.

62 HELIOPS FRONTLINE When they fly over the sea, Mi-14 aircrews use the orange Polish-made MUP-1 survival immersion suites.

A Mi-14PL is seen while loaded with PT-50

practice bombs on bomb racks inside thecavernous bomb bay.

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 63 ABOVE; The Mi-14 era in the Polish Naval Aviation is set to end in 2018 when the service life of the type will expire.

RIGHT: A scan into the

Mi-14PL/R cockpit.

Presently, the active Mi-14PL fleet of the Polish Naval Aviation has been reduced to three examples out of eight upgraded between 2007 and 2014, as 1002, 1001 and 1005 were grounded due to the expired service life, with 1003 and 1005 slated to follow suit until the end of 2016. One more M-14PL is expected to be retired in 2017, another will follow in 2018 while the last machine, 1008 (life-extended and overhauled as late as in 2014), will be good for use, (at least in theory), until 2021 but most likely it will be also retired in 2018.

HAZE-A UPGRADED FOR SAR

The Polish heavyweight/long-range SAR fleet of three Mi-14PS run out of useful life in 2010, with the last two aircraft reaching their service life limit of 3,000 flight hours and 27 years, as assigned by the types design authority, Russian company Mil MHP. In an effort to retain the much-needed long-range overwater SAR capability, the Polish Navy eventually decided to upgrade two of the existing Mi-14PLs for the SAR mission.

64 HELIOPS FRONTLINE The Mi-14PL crew consists of five members pilot, co-pilot, two ASW suite operators and a flight engineer.

There are no plans for a further service life

extension of the Mi-14PL fleet so far and instead the replacement option will be pursued.

Capt Marcin Hope

is an experiencedSAR pilot but has noidea what will cometo Darlowo after theMi-14PL/R eventual HELIOPS FRONTLINE 65demise. Both Mi-14PL/Rs seen at their quick reaction alert duty ramp. These rotorcraft were converted in 2010 to the Mi-14PL/R SAR standard at the WZL-1 at Lodz, with technical assistance provided by the Ukrainian Alfa company of Sevastopol. The conversion works included stripping of all ASW equipment and the installation of a wider cabin door, an externally-mounted SPG-350 electrical hoist (rated at 661lb [300kg]) and fitted with a rescue basket, in addition to an all- new communication and navigation avionics suite. It included the Ukrainian-made Buran-A weather/navigation radar in the nose in addition to the Rockwell Collins DF-430 multi-mission direction finder used to provide homing on emergency locator beacons; it is capable of receiving and interrogating all current international distress frequencies including 121.5MHz, 243MHz, 406MHz in addition to ARGOS and COSPAS-SARSAT encoded beacon signals. The Mi-14PL/Rs communications suite includes two Unimor RS-6113 VHF/UHF radios, one Bendix King KHF950 HF radio and one RT 4822 VHF DSC simplex/ semiduplex VHF radiotelephone for maritime communications. The first of the upgraded Haze-As, serial 1012, re-designated as Mi-14PL/R (R denoting rescue) was introduced in service in December 2010, and the second one (1009) followed suite in April 2011. Together with the upgrade, the helicopters were overhauled and life extended in order to be good for seven more years of service and 1,000 flight hours, whichever reached the first. This means that Mi-14PL/R 1009 is slated for retirement in December 2017, while 1012 is good to continue soldiering on until April 2018.

SAR PILOT SPEAKS OUT

According to Capt. Marcin Hope, a Mi-14PL/R instructor pilot, each of the two flying groups at Darlowo has its own complement of pilots, with no cross qualification between the SAR and ASW aircrews. He began his officer career at Darlowo, converting to the Mi-14PS used for sea and land SAR, immediately after graduation from the Polish Air Force Academy at Deblin where he has trained on

the PZL Swidnik Mi-2 helicopter. In general, it takes too long time here to qualifyfor each individual mission on the Haze. As a consequence, I spent no less than fiveyears as co-pilot and only then upgraded to crew commander while after five moreyears I got my flight instructor rating.

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 67 The Mi-14PL/R has an SPG-350 electric winch in the enlarged door, equipped with a large basket for sea rescue missions.

Capt. Hope graduated with 200 flight hours under his belt, all logged on the 3.4-tonne Mi-2. The conversion to the 13-tonne Mi-14PS was a big step for him at the time. During his officer career he amassed some 1,100 flight-hours on the Mi-14 while his total flight time is about 1,500 flight hours. Asked to comment the Haze performance as a SAR platform, Capt. Hope gladly and proudly shared that the heavyweight helicopter has a lot of power and carries a lot of fuel, making it able to stay in the air for five a half hours while the spacious cabin can accommodate up to 20 survivors during mass evacuations. The two Klimov TV3- 117MT turboshafts are rated at 2,200shp (1,641kW) each in one engine inoperative (OEI) conditions, sufficient to retain horizontal flight), while the take-off rating is 1,950 shp (1,456 kW). Today we have only one equivalent in the world in the terms of size and payload the EH101 (AW101) Merlin, he claimed. Ironically, Capt. Hope was a member of the Polish MoD evaluation team which downselected in April 2015 the Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal as a Mi-14PS/PL successor in the ill-fated tender, which has reportedly failed to materialize into a purchase contract in October 2016. The Baltic Sea may be relatively small compared to other water basins but it accounts for a 15% of the global transport of goods by sea. Each day, 2,500 to 3,000 vessels of various sizes pass through. Up to 120 accidents of various types occur each year, all needing the prompt intervention of SAR assets. The Polish area of responsibility for providing sea SAR service covers over 30,000km2. The Polish Navy performs the mission by working closely with the nations Maritime Search and Rescue Service, which is responsible for the sea SAR management and coordination of rescue operations at sea, and provides surface and air assets to perform the operations. As Capt. Hope noted, the SAR Group at Darlowo is tasked to cover the entire southern part of the Baltic Sea, some 92nm (170km) from the coastline, in the worst seas. The area of responsibility also includes up to 54nm (100km) onshore, covering all northern regions of the country bordering with the Baltic Sea.

68 HELIOPS FRONTLINE The Mi-14 is a 13-tone rugged rotorcraft designed by using the Mi-8 airframe modified with a boat-style bottom of the hull.

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA IN ACTION

Capt. Hope explained that Polish pilots have nicknamed the Mi-14 as Space Shuttle Columbia due to itshigh angle of attack maintained during final approach for rolling landing, touching down first with the mainundercarriage units.As he noted, the Mi-14 proved itself as a very reliable and well-maintained platform, with only one ortwo mechanical problems experienced by the Darlowo-based fleet in the last ten years, while most ofthe problems are of electrical nature. He also mentioned that water landings were practiced by the Mi-14crews on regular basis until 2007, but after the SLEP this practice has been abandoned in order to reducethe structural loads on the aging Haze airframes associated with the on-water operations.Weather minima for landing in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions for the Mi-14 fleet is set at 4,920ft(1,500m) horizontal visibility and 394ft (120m) cloud base. When operating on instrumental flight rules(IFR), performing ILS approach, the minima visibility is set at 2,624ft (800m) horizontal visibility and 197ft(60m) cloud base. For take-offs, the minimum visibility is set at 1,640ft (500m), but when scrambled toperform a real-world SAR operation there are no visibility limits set for take-off, and the wind speed limit isset at 39kt (72km/h).The Buran-A radar added during the Mi-14PL/R upgrade has both weather and surface search modes,while the original Inistiativa-2 search radar has been removed. The search modes enable detection ofthe coastline and ships on the sea surface. According to Capt Hope, a small fishing boat can be typicallydetected by the radar at 13.5 to 16.1nm (25 to 30km) with the helicopter maintaining 330ft (100m) altitude.

The Mi-14PL/R crew during a typical mission includes pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer (who also acts as a winch operator), rescue swimmer and doctor. When performing rescue missions in bad weather the Mi-14 would usually go to the airport which is closest to the appropriate hospital while in good weather the helicopter is required to land as close as possible to the hospital. SAR crews on quick reaction alert (QRA) at Darlowo work a 24 hour-long shift pattern, but in fact their working time is 25 hours due to the need to kit out, perform pre-flight checks, hover-test the helicopter and other preparatory activities. Each QRA shift begins at 8 oclock in the morning. Time from the scramble order to take-off during day missions is within 20 minutes, extended to 30 minutes in case of night-time take-off. During the winter, the daylight reaction time is also set at 30 minutes because of the need to warm up some equipment onboard. The number of duty shifts is between three and seven per month. Mi-14 aircrews use the Polish-made MUP-1 survival immersion suites all the time when they fly over the sea. The suite is flame-resistant and provides thermal protection in water.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SPECIFICS

Normal VFR cruise altitude over the sea is set at 661ft (200m), while at night it increases to 1,320ft (400m). When flying IFR, the minimum cruise altitude is set at 1,970ft (600m) over the sea; the same minimum altitude, but in reference to the highest terrain point in the area, is required to be maintained when flying over land. Capt. Hope says that the night SAR mission over the rough sea in bad weather is a completely different world from anything else than can be experienced on helicopters. No sea-state limits are set for SAR operations, while training can be

70 HELIOPS FRONTLINEcarried out in sea states up to eight due to the limitations imposed onto the shipinvolved in the training winching operations. The Haze cabin is usually equippedwith a set of four stretchers, but when necessary can be configured with up to ten,together with liferafts and other rescue and medical equipment. Capt. Hope claimsthat the Haze has the distinction to be equipped with the best anti-icing systemin the world. In one particular mission in the winter we had ice build up so thickon the fuselage that after landing it proved next to impossible to open the cabindoor, but the helicopter remained flyable, he recalled. The Mi-14s rotor blades areprovided with electrical heating, while the intakes and the windshield are heatedby bleed air taken from engine compressors. The anti-icing system is switched onwhen the outside air temperature is below 100C and is required to work all the time.In fact, pilots are advised to avoid as much a possible prolonged flying in zoneswith known icing conditions. The Mi-14 is cleared for operating with no restrictionsimposed in the temperature ranging from -50 to +45 0C. According to Capt. Hope, when hovering for winching operations, the Mi-14PL/Rs altitude depends on the size of the boat. For instance, over fishing boats, 20 to13ft (6 to 7m) long, the helicopter has to be low, as the pilot has to get a referencepoint, usually a part of the boat, in order to maintain stable hover, usually at 50ft(15m) altitude. No autopilot is used and the pilot and co-pilot have to fly by handto maintain hover and adjust the helicopter position in relation to the boat. Afterfive to ten minutes in hover over small boats, I have to hand over helicopter controlto my co-pilot and take some rest as it is a very high workload and I get exhaustedvery rapidly. My longest non-stop time hands-on hover during winching operationsis 15 minutes, while during training total time is 45 to 50 minutes. Each pilot and co-pilot in the SAR group racks up about 120 flight hours a year.Before 2010, when the SAR Haze fleet had serviceability issues, the annual flighttime was limited to between 50 and 60 hours. When asked to comment about the mission capabilities of the convertedMi-14PL/R, Capt. Hope replies that it is not so good as the original Mi-14PS, whichhe flew between 2003 and 2010. The Mi-14PL/R has a new attitude indicator,which is not so good, and the winch installation is also inferior due to its externalmounting. The flight control system of the converted Haze-A also featuresdifferent settings, resulting in notably inferior controllability and lacking some of thestabilization performance available on the original Mi-14PS. In addition, the positioncenter of gravity has shifted due to the installation of the new mission equipmentand this has resulted in a different hovering attitude, with more nose-up, providingsomewhat reduced visibility for the pilot when involved in low-level winchingoperations, especially if hovering over small boats, he said. Furthermore, the large

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 7172 HELIOPS FRONTLINE HELIOPS FRONTLINE 73 pimple radome of the Buran-A radar adds some discomfort at the night as it tends to reflect the light rays coming from the front search lights thus creating unwanted glares, worsening the visibility for the pilots.

NEW ASW SUITE FOR THE POLISH HAZE-A FLEET

The new computerized Kryl-lot mission suite of the upgraded Mi-14PL incorporates the new MAD, upgraded sonar and the new hydro acoustic system to process information derived from deployed sonobuoys. It comes integrated with the newly-added LS-10 Leba command, control and communication subsystem. The new mission suite for the Haze-A was developed by the Gdansk University of Technology and the Gdansk subsidiary of the Telecommunications Research Institute. The Western-standard navigation aids integrated on the Mi-14PLs in the early 2000s include a Bendix King KTU709TACAN (TACtical Aid to Navigation), Bendix King KNR634A VOR/ILS and Garmin 155XL GPS. The enhanced communication suite comprises two Unimor RS-6113-2 UHF/VHF radios, one Bendix King KHF950 HF radio and one Raytheon ARC-232 Starblazer multi-band UHF/ VFH radio. The helicopter also features a Polish-made Radwar SC-10Ds military transponder. The first upgrade of the components of the Haze-As obsolete analogue ASW suite was undertaken in the mid-1990s by the Gdansk University of Technology. Its first project was to develop new sonobuoys and an acoustic analyzer using digital signal processing for conducting spectral analysis of the received acoustic signals. Then the work on the mission suite continued with upgrading the Oka-2M dipping sonar to the new Oka-2MZ standard. The original sonar operated in the active and passive mode, with operating frequency for both the active and passive mode of 15kHz and ultrasonic beam width of 15. A narrow-band sounding pulse was used in the active mode with duration of 50ms and 1kW power. The upgraded Oka-2M/Z sonar retained the original ultrasonic transducers and mechanical systems for deployment and stabilization and added an array of newly- developed electronic sub-systems such as transmitters, receivers, signal processing and displays. The newly-introduced broadband sounding signal reduces the level of reverberation, which is particularly important for operations in shallow waters, such as the Baltic Sea, with an average depth of 330ft (100m), which offers very difficult

74 HELIOPS FRONTLINESome of the upgraded Mi-14PLs also feature two workstations in thecabin the first one for the navigator-operator (almost the same asthat of the original in the front part of he cabin) and another, newly- added, to be occupied by a sensor operator, who works with thesonar, magnetic anomaly detector and the hydro-acoustic system.

HELIOPS FRONTLINE 75 As Capt Hope claimed, the 6.4-tonne W-3WR is not considered as able to conditions for submarine search by using hydro acoustic sensors. As a result, the perform the full spectrum upgraded Haze-A sonar got significantly improved detection performance with of SAR missions currently doubled range for detecting and tracking submarines. While the original Oka- assigned to the Mi-14. The W-3WR is a good 2M has a range of up to 3nm (5.6km) when working in the active mode against helicopter in general but conventional submarines, the upgraded Oka-2M/Z is said to be capable of detecting not for this style of SAR similar targets at a maximum range of some 6.5nm (12km). operations. Its endurance The Mi-14s auto hover system provides stabilization in roll, pitch and yaw, and is up to three hours keeps the helicopter motionless in relation to the dipping sonar transducer. Once without reserves and it is limited to taking up to a contact has been established and confirmed, the new digital mission computer five survivors onboard. is used to guide the helicopter to a weapon release point in automatic or semi- So, the W-3WR is a totally automatic mode. The APM-60 towed magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) was different helicopter when replaced by the Polish-made Mniszka device. It retained the bird (bomb-shaped compared to the Mi-14 body) of the original Russian device towed on a 119ft (36m) cable but has an all-new and cannon replace it electronics for increased sensitivity and therefore boasting a considerably longer in the heavy-duty/long- range SAR work in the detection range. Baltic Sea. The new Krab sonobuoy system uses the original Soviet-era RGB-1 passive buoys but added digital processing of the received signals for increased detection range in the complex environmental conditions offered by the Baltic Sea. The upgraded Haze-A retained the original Initziativa-2M centimeter-wavelength 360-degree search radar. It is used for long-range maritime surveillance and offshore navigation. The powerful radar is a rather obsolete piece of kit but is still highly useful as it had been claimed to possess a 136nm (220km) detection range against large surface ships, while submarine periscope or life raft can be detected at up to 9nm (15km). The radar can also provide useful coastline picture in several display scales a feature highly priced for bad weather navigation in proximity to the seashore. The ASW tactics requires the Mi-14PL to be employed in pairs or sections of four machines. When engaged in pairs, one helicopter acts as the hunter and the other as the killer but they can swap the roles at any given moment. The first upgraded Haze-A, serialled 1007 was handed over in November 2001 to the Polish Navy after the completion of a testing program intended to verify the operability of the new mission suite. In the event, the upgrade is believed to has been was implemented on six Mi-14PLs. The upgraded Mi-14PLs retained the depth charge ordinance selection of the original Haze-A, including the 276lb (125kg) PLAB-125-120 and 110lb (50kg) PLAB-50-64. For training missions, the Haze uses the P-50 practice bomb without explosive charge, 12 of which can be accommodated in the spacious weapons bay. Bomb drops are usually preformed from 820ft (250m) altitude. v